New IDF orders to come into force Wednesday will make it very difficult for soldiers to gain permission to grow their beards for religious reasons, but the religious website Srugim has dug up photos of senior IDF personalities who grew beards themselves.

Among these is a young Moshe Ya'alon, seen in the photo receiving a commendation from former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Shomron. Ya'alon, who is secular, is the current Minister of Defense. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
No, the most important point of this piece is not that the State of Israel's Defense Minister was caught in alleged hypocrisy.

Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon
Israeli Defense Minister

Was Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon wearing a beard for religious reasons? Or was he like a lot men, and felt that shaving was a pain in the tuchus?
Who knows, and who cares?

As efficient Srugim's research, and as clever its tactic of presenting this photo of Ya'alon was, the most important point reported here was actually that...

The new orders have caused anger among national-religious soldiers and
leaders, who say it is part of a concerted attempt of secularization by
some political officers and elements of the IDF top brass.

The national religious soldiers and "leaders" should be angry, and they are right. This "is part of a concerted attempt of secularization." But, they are just seeing this now?? This by far, not the first time, nor will it be the last time, the IDF will attempt to blot out any duel loyalties among its soldiers.

What? And you don't think the State of Israel hasn't been doing the very same all along?

According to the new directives, a soldier who wishes to grow or keep
his beard for religious reasons will need to receive official approval
from the IDF Chief Rabbinate, his unit commander and his adjutant
commanding officer.

What does growing a beard for religious reasons have anything to do with unit commander and adjunct commanding officer??

Absolutely nothing, unless of course the IDF "top brass" are talking about the Jewish religion, but about a State of Israel religion instead.

The new orders were revealed shortly after a 19-year-old
religious officer reported being told he would have to shave his beard
or face a court martial.

Were these orders stealthily, made and implemented with "shock and awe," in order to make the point that in the IDF, the rabbis don't give the orders around here?

Regardless of the short-term goals of the "top brass," the overall message should be loud and clear. The IDF is not really a Jewish army.

I realize that this statement will simply be too much for the "National Religious" to fathom, and so, I will offer them an alternative, which should be more palatable to them. The IDF is an army with an increasingly fading connection to Torah. How's that for a euphemism?

With a handful of idealistic holdouts, the IDF leadership had been targeting any threat to its authority, and by extension, to the authority to the State. The Torah being the biggest threat of them all.

Of course, those who are truly in control of the State of Israel are the Labor Zionists, who have always had the ultimate goal of wiping out any truly Jewish aspects of the State, and to guide the Jewish People into full assimilation into a Western secular-led, global community. The Labor Zionists are the ones to blame.

Gee. Maybe the "National Religious" will think twice about sending their kids into the IDF to be knocked around, used, and to have their indoctrination into total State (usurping of Torah) loyalty completed?

Furthermore, 16 years ago, I learned that of the "National Religious" men who enlisted in the IDF, 25% were no longer religious by the end of their service.

Who knows what the statistic is today?

Let us hope that this will also be a consideration for "National Religious" parents to reconsider the carrying on of this custom, until significant changes are made in IDF policy toward religious soldiers, being allowed to grow a beard, being minor in comparison to the many other gross violations of the Torah.

A leader of the Jewish Community of Malmö, Sweden, reacted badly when a Jewish TV star revealed he had quit a successful series because of the discomfort he felt when filing in Malmö.

Kim Bodnia, the Danish-Jewish star of the Scandinavian crime drama "The Bridge" ("Broen / Bron" in Danish and Swedish) had said he quit the show in part because he did not feel safe filming in the Swedish town of Malmö.

He left the TV series after two seasons playing police investigator Martin Rohde, and in an interview with Israeli website Walla, said anti-Semitism “is growing, especially in Malmö where we shot it.”

It’s not very comfortable to be there as a Jewish person. So of course this has something to do with why it’s easy for me to say no to working in Sweden," he added.

The Jewish Community of Malmö responded by saying that the Jews have "no interest in being used in a politicized discussion on the situation for us Jews in Malmo," wrote Freddy Gellberg, Deputy Chairman of the Jewish Community of Malmö, in Expressen. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

here,” Peres said at the synagogue. “We never dreamed that state we created would be bigger than Norway, and a pioneer in technology and science."

Norway, Sweden, and Finland

"Being used in a politicized discussion??" Since when is the safe of Jews, nothing more than a politics?

There is not really much else to comment on this report. Contract disputes or not, I say good for Kim Bodnia, and shame on Malmö's Jewish community "leaders."

It is well-known that Malmö is one of Europe's biggest and most problematic, Islamic thorn in its side.

Bosnia and Albania are Europe's Muslim countries, yet they cannot hold a candle Malmö's developing Islamic enclave. Of all countries in Europe, of all cities in Europe, what Jew in his right mind would actually want to remain living in Malmö, Sweden?

Unfortunately, the reaction by the "leader" of the Malmö Jewish Community, to Bodnia's comments was hardly surprising.

Kim Bodnia asDet. Martin Rohdein "The Bridge"

Furthermore, ...when [Bodnia was] asked
about his religious beliefs in 2011 he said that he has "None, other
than that I believe in nature".[2]

But, the Islamic problem has definitely been building up in Denmark, as well. So, why should Bodnia, one who does not identify religiously as Jewish, be able to see what the Malmö Jewish"leadership" cannot, or does not, want to see? Perhaps Bodnia just has more common sense than they do.

I was born and raised in sunny and multicultural, Southern California,
the land of movie stars and suntans. So, I get the appeal of remaining
in galuth (exile). But, if the mosque and Muslim owned grocery
store, three blocks from my apartment had come even close to showing the
signs of Islamic radicalization and local takeover in Malmö, I would
have left much sooner than I eventually did.

But, I digress...

Do you know who else apparently has more common sense than the Malmö Jewish "leadership?"

Rabbi Chaim Katz, a former Chief Rabbi of Sweden. Both he and his brother, Rabbi Aharon Katz, one assistant to the Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav Kook, Rabbi Avraham Shapira ztz"l, knew enough to leave, an that Eretz Yisra'el (the Land of Israel) is the homeland of the Jewish People, not Sweden.

Another prominent Scandinavian rabbi did the same, Rabbi Michael Melchior, a former MK (Meimad/Labor). Born in Denmark, Melchior served as Chief Rabbi of Norway.

Once again, we see the Jewish galuth (exile) mentality at its worst.

Let us hope the Jews of Malmö, and elsewhere in Scandinavia wake up, before it is too late. Needless to say, the first step is for them to ignore their so-called "leaders."

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, head of the Jewish Home party's Tekuma faction, said Wednesday that he would support the establishment of a seaport in the Hamas terror enclave of Gaza if such a proposal was brought before the government.

The topic has been raised in earnest recently as it is one of the demands of Turkey, a staunch ally of Hamas, in its rapprochement talks with Israel. Ankara is already planning a $5 billion project to rebuild Gaza, with a central part of the plan to be a seaport.

Israel has firmly refused the demand due to the blatant threat of Hamas using the seaport to smuggle in weapons, as the group has constantly been attempting to do even without the port.

But Ariel wrote on his Twitter account: "If the security arrangements were approved by the IDF, I would support the establishment of a sea port in the (Gaza) Strip."

"Zionism and settlement go together with economic and regional development," he wrote. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Minster Uri Ariel was the last, almost decent, MK, but even he was already on shaking ground. Now there aren't any. Sure, there are one or two secular MK's who mean well, and who even almost "get it" Nevertheless, the current government is hopeless, and I am far from hopeful about any future governments of the State of Israel.

The secular MK's lack any real, Torah guidance. They only risk making the same mistakes, based on Western culture, in an attempt to solve the so-called "Arab-Israeli Conflict."

I have much less tolerance for kippah-wearing MK's who not only distort the Torah when convenient, but ignore it for the sake the of Hellenist democracy, or in Israel's case deMOCKracy.

The,n when they make ridiculous proposals based on Western cultural norms, which we already know do not work anyway, because we have already tried them a bazillion times, I get particularly irked.

The new debate on the issue [of the seaport] apparently stems from a desire
to reach a more stable situation, on the assumption that a better
economic standing in Gaza would prevent Hamas from attacking again.

Now, do I really need to say it? OK, I will. Throwing money at Hamas will not, I repeat, will not change their minds whatsoever, regarding their desires to annihilate the Jewish People, and their claims laid to our Land.

Just look at the map which crowns the Hamas emblem...

Hamas Emblem

And, if the map of what they claim is theirs, just look at this "music video" recently released from Azza (Gaza)...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon
(Likud) have firmly opposed the notion of a Gaza seaport, leaving its
chances of being implemented low.

Thank goodness for small favors.

Minister Ariel, "Zionism and settlement" have absolutely nothing to do with "economic and regional development" for those who want to destroy you.

Minister Ariel disappoints me even more than the usual "religious" MK
spewing out utter silliness our of their mouths. You see, Minister Ariel
used to get up in front of the Knesset, and make statements from the
Torah, including that Eretz Yisra'el (the Land of Israel) belongs
to the Jewish People, because The Almighty gave it to us.

Now, that is a
statement we rarely hear from an MK, if at all. This is exactly the kind of statement that we call impressive. Even though it should be coming out of them mouths of every member of a Jewish government of Israel. So, the rarity of such a statement should tell you something.

My roommate found this flier under our door the other night. It is from the so-called J-Witnesses. If you see this flyer in your neighborhood, like we did in South Jerusalem, destroy them, but save one. Cross out the text, like I did above, and then hang it in your building, explaining in Hebrew who it came from, to destroy it, and to pass the word. You can copy and paste the Hebrew above.

It is also recommended to contact Yad leAchim, an organization of champions fighting against Christian missionaries of all types. Let them know where you found these flyers.

Remember that as Jews from English speaking countries, you have more knowledge and experience in dealing with such matters than our native Hebrew speaking friends and neighbors, probably more than our French, Russian, and Amharic speaking friends and neighbors, too.

Former Minister of Education Rabbi Shai Piron (Yesh Atid) has congratulated current Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) for the culture basket reforms he presented last week.

As part of the reform, the culture basket's budget will be set at 22 million shekels ($5.6 million US) instead of the current 16 million shekels ($4 million US), and will serve 800,000 students in about 170 local authorities. The students will be provided with 6,000 cultural performances, an increase over the current 1,200 performances that have been subsidized.

"I also sometimes have issues, really mostly insights on what Naftali Bennett does as a whole and in the Education Ministry specifically," Rabbi Piron wrote on his Facebook account. "But someone here got confused. When every move is criticized - you shouldn't be state-sanctioned. It doesn't matter what you do, a regular group will explain that the motive was not appropriate, fitting, pure."

He says that it's impossible to continue in this manner. The Israeli lack of faith saps the strength from every public figure, every group. So now it is time to encourage Bennett.

"Dear Naftali," Piron added. "The move dealing with the culture basket is correct and proper. It gives weight and important standing to managers. It allowed cultural diversity. It expands the spectrum of those who use the culture basket. Good for you."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Cultural diversity? Does Bennett mean Ashkenazy, North African, Yemenite, and Ethiopian Jews learning about each other's cultures together? North American, South American, French, and Russian Jews participating in joint Shabbat prayers, meals, and activities? What about Hassidic and Litvish Jews engaging in cultural dialogues under the guidance of rabbis and MK's from the United Torah Judaism Party?

I sincerely doubt that any of the above is on the agenda, and is probably conspicuously absent from Bennett's "culture basket."

Naftali Bennett

So, when do we get to find out what exactly is in this culture
baskets? What kind of "cultural" programs will our children be exposed
to? What will these "cultural performances" entail? And the $128 question...

What will students, that is, our children, be required to participate in?

Funny thing about the word "culture" in Israel. My experience is that "culture" in Israel tends to be code one of three different things:

1. Exposure to cultures which are completely foreign to Torah.

2. Increased exposure to Western, "progressive" culture, and always presented as the ideal, even superior, culture to which we should all strive for.

3. Coexistence, as in coexistence within Israel, between Jews non-Jews. Of course, discussion of when and how non-Jews are even allowed to reside in Israel is completely forbidden, as it contradicts the State of Israel'sso-called "democratic" principles.

Is Piron attempting to guilt us into supporting his successor's "culture basket," with its increased funding? Are we supposed to buy Piron's logic that if he has disagreed with Bennett in the past, but now supports him, that means we should support him, too?

My experience is that if Shai Piron likes it, it is not good. Not good at all.

Someone should remind Naftali Bennett and Rabbi Shai Piron that we already have a culture basket, and it is called the Torah.

A new poll conducted by the Mesaker polling firm reveals that the "hilltop youth" are unpopular even within the generally right-leaning national religious camp.

The hilltop youth, a relatively new phenomenon within the Jewish community in Judea and Samaria, emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a small, distinct, and tightly-knit group often residing in small outposts. (cont.)

This once again shows the sickness and closed mindedness of the "National Religious" and "Settler" communities in Israel. While I don't expect them to embrace or even condone the at times violent anarchist nature of the "Hilltop Youth", to say that they are not at all helpful and entirely harmful to the "Settlement Enterprise" is an outright lie. THESE meshugayim are the only ones expanding and building settlements while the leaders whine about building freezes while doing NOTHING about it. These wild weeds are the ones who serve as the buffer zone between the hostile Arab population and THEIR houses and absorb the brunt of the attacks, vandalism and thefts. THESE Wayward Sons are the ones who are being expelled and dismantled by the government leaving the fat cats inside the fences of the settlements proper safe and secure. Most of the Settler agriculture takes place in these so called "outposts" by the so called "hilltop youth" or "graduates" of that movement when they grow up marry and start families.

It is the hilltop youth that are keeping the dream of Yishuv Haaretz alive, and are the "chalutzim" of our time. Much like their brothers in the Kibbutzim, the old guard has become fat and complacent in their red roofed villas and have forgotten the ideological basis for starting their communities in the first place. They no longer have the spark of self sacrifice, to go out and expand. To build, to conquer, and yes to Judaize as much of the land as they physically can while limiting the expansion of our "cousins". Their only interest is maintaining what they have, at all costs. Keeping the money flowing, and their kushy government patronage jobs. Even at the cost of throwing their brethren under the bus. We have reached the point of absurdity where what is good for the "Settlement Enterprise" is NOT good for for the Jewish People or the Land of Israel. Very much the opposite and thank G-d there are a few chutzpadik kids who are not embarrassed to openly say that the Emperor is Nekked.

And frankly they may not like these "hilltop youth" or their ideology, but where do they expect them to go? Most Yishuvim today still have fairly strict "acceptance boards" regulating who may and may not live in their towns. They desire to create a homogeneous monolithic demographic in their communities has come full circle and those who they rejected or rejected THEM are now a thorn in their sides. You basically threw them out of society, or at the very least did not make a place for them so don't go and complain when they are at odds with your values and way of life.

If anything it is the Yeshu Council and the Settler Leadership in general, and the Non Jewish Home party, not the "hilltop youth" that are "responsible for causing a great deal of damage while contributing very little". If not for them we would probably still be in Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron today and the population in Yehuda and Shomron would be significantly higher...Follow The Kalashnikover Rebbe on Facebook!

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot made a surprising statement on Wednesday morning during a visit to Bat Yam, in which he defended the army's controversial open-fire orders and brushed off the teachings of the Jewish sages.

Eizenkot (right) with Defense Minister Ya'alon, before his promotion last year.

During his visit to the city's cultural center which was attended by high school students, he said, "the phenomenon of terror accompanies Israeli society throughout the years, and there also were knifings years ago. It could be in Tel Aviv, in Otniel or Ariel. We see mutual influence between what happens in the Middle East with Daesh (ISIS) and what happens for us here (in Israel)."

One of the high school students asked Eizenkot whether he intends to change the opening fire procedures, arguing that the current orders endanger the lives of IDF soldiers and are stricter than ever.

Last August the orders were made even tighter, mandating soldiers in Judea and Samaria to only fire in the air, and not even shoot the lower extremities of an attacker other than in extreme cases of imminent life-threatening danger. In May, it was reported that IDF soldiers were told to avoid killing terrorists, even if they spot them as they are about to throw a potentially lethal firebomb or rock at a car.

But Eizenkot argued the orders don't need changing on Wednesday, and went on to disparage a famous Talmudic maxim on self-defense.

"The IDF cannot speak in slogans like 'when someone comes to kill you – kill him first,'" he said, citing the dictum. Eizenkot also dismissed as a "slogan" the following: "everyone holding scissors must be killed." Arab terrorists have conducted numerous lethal stabbings with scissors during the recent wave of attacks.

The Talmudic dictum was recently quoted by Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef last October, when he praised soldiers who kill attacking terrorists and lauded them for performing a mitzvah.(cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The impression of Gen. Eizenkot we get from this report descends fairly quickly from a place of apparent naïveté to one of either ignorance or incompetence. It is hard to tell. Eizenkot does not even come off like a real general. Instead, he seems more like the caricature of a general.

In his visit on Wednesday, Eizenkot also spoke about the security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority (PA)."There
is cooperation with the Palestinian security mechanisms, there are
40,000 security personnel of this sort," he said, noting the large
number of PA forces who were established and armed by Israel in the 1994
Oslo Accords.

The general is proud of this fact? That the State of Israel has been arming people who want to annihilate the Jewish People, and conquer all of Eretz Yisra'el, the Jewish Homeland, for its own?

Does he really mention the Oslo Accords as something which has shown itself to have been something positive to Am Yisra'el? It sure sounds this way.

Ari Yashar quite correctly points out that...

A growing number of the terrorists in recent attacks have proven to
be PA policemen, in a disturbing trend that is being openly promoted by
sources such as Hamas.
Following the 2000 Second Intifada or Oslo War, in
which over 1,000 Israelis were murdered, PA officials later bragged that
70% of the attacks were conducted by PA Security Force members.

In a report from YNET, on the general's visit to the Bat-Yam cultural center, we are informed that he stated...

"The West Bank has thousands of troops operating amongst two million Palestinians and hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens. We educate our soldiers to act according to the IDF's ethics and spirit, and it is much easier to work with Syria or Lebanon in this matter. If we were to act in an unethical manner in our rules of engagement, it would pose a threat to the IDF. There were 170 terrorist incidents in recent months, and more than 100 terrorists were killed in situations in which the troops had split-second decisions to make. I would not want a soldier to unload an entire clip into a girl who is holding scissors. Our troops are moral and we know how to preserve this quality."

Well, it no surprise that Gen. Eizenkot favors Western exile morality over Torah morality. In contrast...

To what "threat" Gen. Eizenkot is referring, which he believes would target the IDF, I have absolutely no idea. Nor, do I know what he means by "unethical manner." Defending oneself effectively against attack is unethical, and waiting until the last possible millisecond to defend oneself is ethical?

Fata"h Party Emblem

PLO Emblemworn by Arafat ysh"w

Furthermore, Gen. Eizenkot has obviously never seen, or is, at the very least, oblivious to the maps which can be found the emblems "Palestinian" organizations. These are not even considered by the State of Israel as the extremists, but rather the mainstream "Palestinian" leadership.

Has he been living under a rock?

How does he believe these maps ended up on their emblems? By accident?

I do not know which would be worse, Gen. Eizenkot really seeing PA President Abbas's Fata"h Party differently from Hamas and Hezbollah, or him not seeing them as being much different from one another, but pushing such IDF policies anyway, which put soldiers at even greater risk than they already are.

Many will gladly point the finger at Gen. Eizenkot, knowing how obviously wrong and dangerous the IDF's open-fire policy is. But, the finger really needs to be pointed at those much higher up on the food chain, orchestraters of the Oslo Accords, such as Shimon Peres(left). Second on the list, should come Prime Minister Netanyahu(right), who has apparently been rendered powerless to do anything, by his handlers, both inside and outside of Israel.

Jewish lives clearly do not matter nearly as much as what the goyim will say.

Oh, and what about the State of Israel's chief military officer referring to a line from the Talmud as a "slogan?"

If this really shocks you, then you are the ones who have been living under a rock.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Ron Ben-Yishai's first error is to assume that all military options have been tried. They have not. The State of Israel has been locked in a bitter cycle, for I don't know how long. In a nutshell, it has been doing a half-hearted job to

Even in the Six-Day War, the State of Israel stopped short. Until this day, it has not annexed Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria), for fear of having figure out what to do with the Arabs, for fear of "what the goyim will say," for any number of fears.

Ben-Yishai then suggests that"Israel needs to increase monitoring of social media and arrest main agitators."

Yeah, sure. Why not? Of course, when these suggestions are initiated by the left, pseudo-right, and really by anyone in the government, the ultimate goal to apply these strategies and laws to Jews, not Arabs, in order to maintain control over the populace. Just be aware of that.

And, what does Ben-Yishai mean by "unilateral moves?"

UN Partition Plan

Primarily, giving the
Palestinian Authority complete control of the East Jerusalem Arab
neighborhoods. This does not mean that the IDF and Shin Bet will not be
able to enter Abu Dis or Qalandiya when the need arises - based on
intelligence. But the residents in these neighborhoods should not have
Israeli IDs, which allow them to drive terrorists to attacks inside
Israel. Another solution is transferring Area C to the Palestinian
Authority, granting building permits to Palestinians and even
encouraging projects that could create jobs.

Israel can also hint to the Palestinians that if things calm down, it will consider freezing settlement construction outside the large settlement blocs and releasing prisoners. Each of these political measures, and other similar ones, could and should bring about a change in the current climate, and signal to the Palestinians that their situation could change. This may affect even the hotheaded youths and mostly give parents a good reason to restrain their offspring.

In other words, give them more stuff, give into their demands, because if only we just give them enough, then they will finally come around.

Now, how long have we been employing this very strategy? How many more Jewish lives must be lost before we finally realize that this approach has produced nothing but bitter failure?

Ben-Yishai needs to look as the maps (below) of mythical "Palestine," which has never existed. The Arabs and they certainly do not cities such Hevron, Efrat, and Beth-El as any different from cities like Tel-Aviv, Haifa, and Be'er Sheva.

Remember, in 1947, while Jews were perfectly happy to settle for the UN Partition Plan chop job, the Arabs rejected it, in favor of annihilation of the Jewish People, and the conquering of all of Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel). What on earth makes Ben-Yishai, and others like minded Jews, believe that the Arabs have changed, or for that matter, will ever change?

As if...

Like the all of the secular, Ashkenazy, "cultural elite," including those non-Ashkenazim who have השתכנזו (Ashkenized), they insist on hammering an Arab, square peg into a Western, round hole.

The irony here, is that "right-wing," Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold, has misapplied this very idiomatic expression...

"We intend to show that Israel needs a security process as well as a peace process.... To continue with the old diplomatic approach would be like hammering square pegs into round holes."(Time. February 19, 2001)

Making the same mistakes over again, expecting different results.

The truth is that the Western assimilated, un-Jewish Left sees "progressive," Western culture as the superior culture, a global community without borders. Nationalism is the enemy, not armed Arabs.

Well, Ron, that's just too bad. Because the Arabs are right about one thing...

Friday, February 12, 2016

Will it take in these refugees which it cannot even afford to support?

Will anyone in the Israeli Government finally have the guts to point out the lack of Arab states taking part in the absorption of these "refugees?" Only Jordan appears to have been bullied into taking any in.

Will Israeli citizens bother to put up a fight, or just cave into the misguided, leftist minority, which is really in control of this State?

Is this a tactic, from outside forces, to ease the removal of the Golan Heights from the State of Israel's hands? Or just a side "benefit" to be secretly embraced by the Erev Rav?

Syria’s refugee crisis in the north is now repeating itself in the south, with tens of thousands of destitute women, children and elderly people fleeing their homes – not this time from beleaguered Aleppo to the Turkish border, but from the southern region of Daraa towards the Jordanian and Israeli borders.

Unlike the broad coverage of the refugee crisis on the Syrian-Turkish border, the refugee exodus from the south has received scant media attention – even from Israeli correspondents.

With the intensification of attacks in southern Syria, about 50,000 refugees are now streaming toward Jordan and another 20,000 making tracks from Israel’s Golan border at Quneitra.

debkafile’s military sources report that, since the weather has cleared and Russian air strikes resumed against the rebels holding the northern part of Daraa, tens of thousands of civilians are on the move from the South. About 15,000 to 20,000 have reached the Jordanian border, and more than 30,000 are believed heading that way; while another 20,000 refugees may be making for the Golan town of Quneitra on the Israeli border.(cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
This is yet another opportunity for "rabbis" to claim that taking in these refugees is the "Jewish" way, or the "Torah" way, even when there is not halakhic (Torah legal) support for this whatsoever, especially if Israel is considered to be in a position of strength (יד ישראל תקיפה).

These rabbis include those mamlakhtim (die-hard State loyalists) such as Rabbi Yuval Cherlow(left), who identifies as "Religious Zionist." Just how wrong these rabbis are seems to depend upon their willingness to accept that the Torah differentiates between Jews and non-Jews, and not just in our respective, and very different, obligations on this earth.

Aside from their demented השקפה (preconceived notions), if even one in these thousands of refugees turns out to be a terrorist, then what would these rabbis have to say? That it was worth it?

Irrespective of the "unhelpful" actions of these "rabbis," very few have been willing to acknowledge that the Syrian refugee crisis, is neither Syrian, refugees, nor even a crisis. The following video by Rabbi David Bar-Hayim, Rosh Machon Shilo, elaborates on this.

The above Debkafile report concludes with...

The Israeli government has not yet issued any statements of policy with regard to the Syrian refugees heading for the Golan.

What I would like to know is why the heck not. This is a no-brainer, or at least it should be.

Brace yourselves, especially those of you in the Golan. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

...James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, was more direct in testimony submitted to the Senate on Tuesday as part of an assessment of threats facing the United States.

“In the future, intelligence services might use the [internet of things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials,” Clapper said.

...which they attempt to justify, claiming that...

Online threats again topped the intelligence chief’s list of “worldwide threats” the US faces, with the mutating threat of low-intensity terrorism quickly following. While Clapper has for years used the equivocal term “evolving” when asked about the scope of the threat, he said Tuesday that Sunni violent extremism “has more groups, members, and safe havens than at any other point in history”.

The Islamic State topped the threat index, but Clapper also warned that the US-backed Saudi war in Yemen was redounding to the benefit of al-Qaida’s local affiliate.
Domestically, “homegrown extremists” are the greatest terrorist threat, rather than Islamic State or al-Qaida attacks planned from overseas. Clapper cited the San Bernardino and Chattanooga shootings as examples of lethal operations emanating from self-starting extremists “without direct guidance from [Isis] leadership”.

And, while the U. S. Government attempts to justify spying on its own citizens...

On the Iran nuclear deal, Clapper said intelligence agencies were in a “distrust and verify mode”, but added: “We have no evidence thus far that they’re moving toward violation.”

...which is code for "We are really stupid," or "We are collaborating with Iran," or most likely, "We are being lax in security, so that an attack will surely occur, justifying further measures to increase control over the populace."

Clapper’s admission about the surveillance potential for networked home devices is rare for a US official. But in an overlooked 2012 speech, the then CIA director David Petraeus called the surveillance implications of the internet of things “transformational … particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft”.

In other words, someone screwed up, and even the U. S. Government could not hide it anymore. Due to its arrogance, it underestimated its own citizens.

Clapper suggested that US adversaries had overtaken its online capabilities: “Russia and China continue to have the most sophisticated cyber programs.”

...which is suppose to justify the U. S. Government's goal of accessing...

...“Law enforcement or intelligence agencies may start to seek orders compelling Samsung, Google, Mattel, Nest or vendors of other networked devices to push an update or flip a digital switch to intercept the ambient communications of a target,” the authors wrote.

The introduction for the television series Person Of Interest (2011) explains one way in which the U. S. Government could theoretically spy on all of its citizens simultaneously.

The existence of this show suggests that either there was a leak (very doubtful)...

Or "they" are trying to convince us just how far-fetched this is, in an attempt to keep the wool pulled over our eyes...

Or this is one of the ways in which "they" are trying to get us used to the idea of being spied on, and attempt to show us how this is for our "own good."

Israel plans to increase the number of entry permits it grants to Palestinian workers, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Monday, in a drive to ease economic hardship that has contributed to a wave of Palestinian attacks.

Publicly, the Israeli government has accused Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas and Islamist groups, of inciting violence. But Israeli security officials have also cited desperation among young Palestinians who see a bleak economic future for the West Bank.

A Defense Ministry official confirmed a report in Israeli media on Monday which said Israel would increase the number of work permits given to Palestinians by 30,000. "A few plans are being looked at," a second Israeli official said.

About 55,000 Palestinians currently have permits to work in Israel, mostly in construction and agriculture, according to the Bank of Israel. They must clear Israeli security checks before the documents are issued.

An additional 30,000 undocumented Palestinian laborers also enter Israel each day. The new plan would raise the number of Palestinian workers vetted by Israeli security officials. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
This plan "to ease economic hardship that has contributed to a wave of Palestinian attacks" smells of pseudo-nationalist, Naftali Bennett. Although I cannot be sure that he has had any influence over the formation of this proposal, he is known for talking up the theoretical cause and effect between economy and terrorism.

Now, let's do the math.

55,000 Arabs from Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) with work permits plus 30,000 more plus a good percentage of the 30,000 workers without work permits, who are unable to obtain them, and so will continue to sneak in, comes to around 100,000 Arabs.
Now if I were to say that over 30,000 more Arabs being granted work permits equals over 30,000 more potential terrorists, then I would be branded a racist. So, of course, I won't do that.

But, I will ask you this question: If there were 100,000 bottles of water, and you knew that one of them was poison, how many of them would you risk drinking, before getting up off your tuchus and digging a well? One? One hundred? One thousand?

This appears to be what the Israeli Government is doing, playing with poisoned bottles of water.

In the meantime, the Israeli Government is highly underestimating the actual number of poisoned bottles of water being sneaked into its midst. Yet, digging a well, and removing all chances of being poisoned appears to be out of the question. So, stay tuned for more reports of Jewish deaths by "poisoning."

"Police say most of the near-daily Palestinian attacks since October...have
been carried out by Palestinians who cross into Israel without permits
from the West Bank."

And what about all of those attacks which have been carried out by Arabs with Israeli citizenship?

Anonymous individuals on Saturday night set fire to a tent containing Torah books next to the settlement of Karmei Tzur in Gush Etzion. No one was hurt, but the books were heavily damaged. Judea and Samaria District Police opened an investigation and said footsteps believed to belong to suspects led to the adjacent Palestinian town of Halhul.

According to locals, the tent serves as a place of prayer and other activities for the area's children. Karmei Tzur residents said arsonists had put the books in a pile and let them on fire. The tent overlooks the spot where the bodies of the three teenagers who were kidnapped and murdered in 2014 were found.

Karmei Tzur residents said they were deeply shocked by the incident and that they felt a red line had been crossed. "It's difficult to accept the fact that in the heart of the country, an incident has occurred that is reminiscent of the darkest history, and we must not forget that less than 100 meters separate the hill and the residents' houses," said a resident. "Reaching there is a dangerous precedent for the future. We must and can put an end to this." (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

"Karmei Tzur residents said they were deeply shocked by the incident and that they felt a red line had been crossed."

Really? So, no one from Karmei Tzur would ever expect Arabs to do something like this? Have they so easily forgotten that this pray tent was built in memory of three boys who were murdered at this location? Was that not already crossing a red line?

Are they in denial? Are they naive? Or have they just successfully passed through the brainwashing of the mamlakhti educational system? The same education which I believe contributed to the boys' in the first place.

Meanwhile, YNET journalist do not call the residents of Karmei Tzur "residents," but rather "settlers."

When will the leftists finally stop making distinctions between places like Karmei Tzur and Tel-Aviv?

The Arabs certainly do not make any such distinctions. They believe that all of Eretz Yisra'el (the Land of Israel) belongs to them.

A Knesset plenum approved on Monday night the "stop-and-frisk law" proposed by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, which expands law enforcement's authority to conduct searches. The law permits police officers to search someone's body and belongings if there is a reasonable suspicion that he may be about to commit violence, or in the event that he uses threatening or violent language.

The bill permits police to search anyone in a group believed to be suspicious. Police will only be able to conduct weapons searches in certain places in accordance with the law, or in the event that there reasonable suspicion of someone carrying a weapon.

Furthermore, the law will allow the chief of a police district to designate a location in which there is suspicion of terrorist activity as a location where body searches are permitted in order to locate illegal weapons. This declaration would remain in effect temporarily and would be the result of heightened security.

The bill is essentially a softened version of the original, which was formulated by the Public Security Ministry and encountered widespread public opposition, including by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

Attorney Avner Pinchuck, director of the association's Civil and Political Rights Unit, said the bill originally allowed body searches without probable cause, "but the approved version threatens citizens no less." Pinchuk argued that Ethiopian Israelis, Arabs, and darker-skinned Jews will remain vulnerable to harassment without any oversight. Indeed, the bill has raised fears of discrimination among Ethiopian Israelis and Arabs.

Minister Erdan, for his part, said passage of the law constitutes "an important boost to the police's ability to more effectively fight terrorism and violence."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The highlighted words and phrases above are all relative, if not completely subjective, the definitions of which will be selectively decided upon by the pawns of the Erev Rav controlled government.

This bill is the classic of governments worldwide, a response to terrorist attacks and other acts of violence. Governments use these events as excuses But, the ultimate goal is increased control over the populace. In Israel's case, this contributes to the ultimate goal of shaping the country.

While the left has decried that this will be selectively enforced against Arabs. I believe that, in fact, the end result will quite the opposite. The targeting of those "settlers" and Haredim, who dare to hold Torah in a place of authority over the State, will be much easier now. The secular youth fed up with Arabs' seduction and assault on our sisters, will be more easily "dealt with."

The application of this law to the only real threat to our physically safety, the Arabs, will be seen by the public only minimally, just enough to keep the wool pulled over our eyes, maintaining our belief that this law is "for our own good."

The Israeli Government is not nearly as concerned with the Arab threat, as it is with what it believes to be the existential threat to the State. Anyone who disagrees with its vision and direction for the Jewish People, assimilation into the global community of goyim, is high on its priority list.

And what about the rights of citizens based on the State's own claim of being a democracy? In other words, expect the government to show us more examples of how it repeatedly breaks its own rules.

A friend of mine was once stripped naked in the middle of a group of female border patrol officers. Were his religious rights respected? No, they were not. And, yes, there are such a things. At least there are supposed to be.

We have also heard allegations of these rights of young religious women being violated in the Tirza prison, having been forced to appear in states of undress in front of male officers. However, reactions to these allegations by feminists and women's rights advocates have conspicuously absent.

Not so long ago, a friend of mine was acquitted of "incitement to racism." He was brought to trial for daring to suggest that we consider removing hostile (not all, but only hostile) Arabs from Azza (Gaza).

The so-called "right-wing" will undoubtedly being celebrating over these proposed laws. But, what happens when their children are labeled as terrorists, or even just suspected of violence or incitement? What happens when their own children become, or become confused with, the very hilltop youth they themselves make a hobby of demonizing?

When Judith G. helped out at a refugee center near Frankfurt last October and identified herself as Jewish, she was spat on and insulted.

German Jews say the case of Judith G., a 33-year-old optician who asked not to be fully named, isn’t isolated and underlines concerns many have about the record arrivals of asylum seekers, largely from Muslim countries in the Middle East.

Official figures show German-born far-right supporters commit the vast majority of anti-Semitic crimes in the country, and Muslim leaders say nearly all asylum seekers – who can be targets of hate crime themselves – are trying to escape conflict, not stir it up.

Nevertheless, Jews across Germany are hiding their identity when volunteering at refugee shelters for fear of reprisals, adding another layer of complexity to a social, economic and logistical challenge that is stretching the fabric of German society. (cont.)

Who cares? While Esau (Edom/Rome/The West) and Yishma'el (Arabs/Islam) battle it out, Jews have two choices, to remain on the battlefield as sitting ducks, or get out.

Jews like Judith G., who mean well, need to get a clue and get out of Germany. It's not your country, Judith, and those million "refugees" appear to be there to make sure that you, and all of the other Jews still in Germany, finally get the message.

Unfortunately, it may already be too late for Jews like Nina Peretz and the other “Friends of the Fraenkleufer Synagogue.”

Some Jewish groups, such as the
Berlin-based “Friends of the Fraenkleufer Synagogue”, have taken the
cultural exchange issue into their own hands with around 40 volunteers
helping out at a local refugee center.

“We
want to send a message to all the Jews who sit at home and build big
fences around their synagogues that it’s possible and necessary to
approach one another, because if we don’t try, things can only turn for
the worse,” said Nina Peretz, head of the initiative.

Their actions are reminiscent Jews in Israel who have reached out to Arabs, opened their towns to them, and have gotten wounded or killed as a result. Efrat, Otni'el, and Teqo'a, are only a few of the towns affected, not to mention Israel's capital of Jerusalem.

Coexisting with goyim may be a necessity for survival, while residing in the golah
(exile). But anyone who has ever visited a zoo should know that come
feeding time, the zookeepers do not hand feed, and try to pet, the big
cats, the alligators, or the poisonous snakes. Instead, they know to
keep their distance, and not bother with cultural sensitivity training. Although the president of the Central Council of Jews might think so...

“Among the refugees, there are a great many people who grew up with hostility toward Israel and conflate these prejudices with hatred toward Jews in general,” Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews, told Reuters in an interview conducted in October.

When will we ever learn? When will we finally stop repeating the same mistakes, expecting different results?

Like I said, Jews in Europe have two choices, to get out now, or to wonder around in the plague of darkness(Ex. 10:21-23), which they do not even know that they are in.

According to a 2013 study by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 64 percent of German Jews avoid the public display of symbols that would identify them as Jewish. It also found that only 28 percent of them report anti-Semitic incidents.

Such incidents, as recorded by the Interior Ministry, dropped in 2015 but Jews still remember chants by young Muslims proclaiming “Jews to the gas” on German streets in protests against 2014's Operation Protective Edge.

Yet again in this report and others like it, aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) is never mentioned as a solution. Israel's own attacks, by both Arabs and its own refugees infiltrators are often used as excuses for not making aliyah. But, what Jews in Europe, and North America, and elsewhere, need to realize is that Israel is our only true homeland. The other countries where we have lived are the lands of our exile, and exile is a punishment. Israel is the only land where we should be investing our money, our energies, our lives.

The Shin Bet and the police have arrested two Palestinian men from the Gaza Strip who entered Israel using forged medical documents, it was cleared for publication on Monday.

The suspects, Mahmoud Maatouk, 30, and Ayoob Maatouk, 51, are both residents of Jabalia, and Mahmoud is a known Hamas member.

According to the Shin Bet, the two men entered Israel on January 7, after presenting authorities with documentation stating Mahmoud was in a state of multiple-organ failure, and that he required immediate hospitalization at the Al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. His evacuation required an ambulance.

The next day, it turned out the two had left the hospital and reached Umm al-Fahm on their own, while perfectly healthy.

During questioning by the Shin Bet, the two admitted to forging medical documents with the aid of a relative, who was in contact with a doctor in the Gaza Strip.

They said they paid about NIS 7,000 for the documents, which stated Mahmoud was a paraplegic. They also gave details regarding other Palestinians who have entered Israel in a similar manner.(cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
So much for Israel's world famous security measures!

Now, I suppose that if I call these men lying Arabs, I will be demonized as a racist. Then, when I remind you that these men are members of Hamas, you'll pause for a moment, and then try to change the subject.

Hamas EmblemNotice the map of what they believe belongs to them.

The Western/galuth (exilic) mentality, led by our feelings, instead of politically-incorrect (yet absolutely correct!), Torah Law, is insidious and powerful.

If you want to know about Arabs, and their threat to us, all you have to do is read the Tana"kh and works of HaZa"L (Our Sages z"l). When will we ever learn?

The report concludes with...

Shin Bet officials said Monday, "This is a very severe incident, which
shows the cynical exploitation of Israel's willingness to answer the
humanitarian needs of Gaza Strip residents, in order to illegally enter
Israel, something which could bring about the tightening of entry
policies and eventually harm the people of the Gaza Strip."

This is not the first time that Shin Bet has warned against the dangers of policies and practices of the Israeli Government it serves.

The Shin Bet may be right this time, but this incident, and others like it, could have been avoided, if Torah Law was used as a guide to determine the correct course of action toward Arabs, instead of our Western/galuth feelings.

Unfortunately, high level government officials find Torah loyalty and observance to be more of an existential threat to the so-called "Jewish Democratic," State of Israel than Arab terrorism.

In the middle of the Arab terror wave, a 55-year-old female Jewish resident of Jerusalem's Old City had her license to carry a handgun removed by the Internal Security Ministry, after police claimed she "prayed on the Temple Mount” in December.

The woman, Feiga Tavnes, has lived in the Old City for the past 35 years. For all of those 35 years she has held a license to carry a firearm and owned a personal handgun, and in all those years she has never been investigated or run afoul of the law. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Of course, this attempt at revoking this lady's
gun license has absolutely nothing to do with whether she prayed on the Har HaBayith (the Temple Mount), or even ascended it.

It should be noted that Tavnes was not investigated for
prayer on the Temple Mount, which even if it occurred, does not
constitute legal grounds for revoking a weapons permit.

She would have been pounced on by Arabs, if they even suspected such a thing. The Wakf (Jordanian Muslim authority) would then have complained VERY LOUDLY, and the Israeli Police officers present would have immediately kowtowed to their demands, without even obtaining the lady's side of the story.

She would then have been whisked away. At least I hope that she would be whisked away being an older woman. If she were a man, then she certainly would have been removed with much greater force.

Man or woman, the suspect would then have been banned from ascending Har HaBayith, for who knows how long.

This incident was simply an example of the powers that be testing the waters of weapon confiscation, which I have no doubt will be expanded from the current targets in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria). We have now seen a hint of its expansion in Jerusalem.

Apparently, the Israeli Police force did not do its homework, and chose to attempt the revocation of the license held by someone for 35 years, and free of any negative record.

In a statement delivered by his spokesperson, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday that he was "alarmed" by the recent statements from the Hamas leadership in Gaza stating their intention to continue building tunnels and firing rockets at Israel.

"Such statements and actions put at risk reconstruction, humanitarian and development efforts by the international community and Palestinian and Israeli authorities," Ban said. "They also do a serious disservice to the long-suffering people of Gaza."

The secretary-general added that "after three major conflicts in the past seven years, people in Gaza and the people of southern Israel deserve a chance for peace and development."

He also reiterated that he condemns terrorism "in all its manifestations" and added that every effort must be made to improve the living conditions of the people of Gaza.

During a funeral for seven Palestinian Hamas operatives who were killed when a tunnel they were digging had collapsed on them earlier this week, senior official Ismail Haniyeh vowed on Friday that the Islamist organization will continue in building its network of underground passages.

“The Hamas military wing will continue with its preparations both underground and above ground,” the former prime minister of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said. “On land and at sea, we will not stop until the liberation of the holy places [in Jerusalem].”

Hamas announced on Thursday that seven members of its military wing, Izzadin Kassam, were killed when a tunnel collapsed. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Is the UN Secretary General really that naive? I think not. The following clip from the classic film Casablanca(1942) sums up his reaction to a tee.

Ban-Ki Moon
UN Clown General

Furthermore, when a terror organization which takes pride in every Jew it kills, honors the murderers as holy martyrs, and reiterates its desire to annihilate the Jewish People, every chance it gets, makes its intentions even clearer with statements such as...

Hamas officials said that they were “proud that hundreds of our men
are working quietly to prepare for defending and protecting our people
over and under the ground.”“The Gaza Strip has built
twice the number of resistance tunnels that were built in Vietnam, a
subject which is studied in military schools,” Haniyeh said on Friday.
“The military wing has built tunnels around Gaza in order to defend it
and to liberate the al-Aksa mosque and the holy places.”Haniyeh said on Friday that Hamas would also continue its efforts to perfect rocket and missile fire.“In
eastern Gaza, heroes are digging tunnels underground, and in western
Gaza heroes above ground are conducting test launches of rockets,”
Haniyeh said.
Haniyeh said that the armed factions in Gaza are preparing for the next round of fighting with Israel.

...it makes it all the more clear that United Nothings Clown General Ban-ki Moon must be living under a rock,...that is, under a rock without television, radio, or internet. Or is he?

Fata"h Emblem

Meanwhile, Hamas's political rival Fatah...

...reacted to the collapse by denouncing Hamas
leaders as "merchants of war who know nothing about life other than
burying their youths in the sand."

Fata"h, of course, wants to wipe Israel off of the map, too, but is perhaps a little bit more patient going about its attempts to accomplish this goal, than Hamas.

Just look at the map embedded in Fata"h's emblem. Apparently, Ban-Ki Moon is oblivious to this fact as well. Or is he?

Perhaps, the UN Secretary is not as clueless as most all news sources have lead us to believe.

Maybe, he just hates Jews. Ever thought about that?

Either way, he is still a just clown, albeit a very dangerous clown to the Jewish People.